1.24.2007

the damage has been done

Long time readers of this site know that we've been following along with the Anna Mae He case for several years... Shaoqiang and Qin Luo He lost custody of their baby daughter after putting her in what they said was temporary foster care with an American family, the Bakers. Yesterday, they won their seven year legal battle to get her back. In a unanimous decision, the Tennessee Supreme Court said a Memphis judge wrongly took away the Chinese couple's parental rights: Chinese parents win back their daughter. Anna Mae He turns eight this month. I've been astounded by the Bakers' stubborn, blind refusal to recognize the parental rights of the Hes, but more than anything, I've always maintained that the person who's going to suffer most from this situation is Anna Mae herself. She will now eventually be reunited with her rightful parents, but separated from the only parents she's ever known. Traumatic, to say the least.